


It Can Wait Til The Morning

by ButtonByte



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sad, Y'all fuckers just wanted to be sad ig, idk how else to tag it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-23 04:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23072005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButtonByte/pseuds/ButtonByte
Summary: Spoilers for Arc 2, Episode 16Br'aad is still pissed at Vel for killing Claire, and Mountain lets some secrets slip.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54
Collections: Br'eakdown





	It Can Wait Til The Morning

They never seem to get a break these days.

From the heist at the theater to saving the barren, and now defeating the swordsman and his tigers, it felt like they'd never get a chance to relax.

By the time they finished the battle with the swordsman, it was nightfall. They decided to set up camp under the flowering trees, pink petals gently lining the ground and their bedrolls. The late-summer night was cool, a light breeze shaking the branches, but stinging the open wounds lining their bodies. This is where Velrisa came in, her place as the team's healer.

She went from party member to party member, sealing their wounds and curing their aches. Well, all but one. She was hesitant to approach Br'aad. They hadn't spoken a word since she hurt- murdered, she reminds herself- Claire, and it was clear that he was still deeply upset with her. Staring at the deep cut into his back, she swallowed her anxiety and approached him, hand outstretched and glowing a healing white light.

"Don't touch me." Was all he growled out, a tone that none of them had heard him use before.

"Br'aad, you're injured, please allow me to heal you."

"I said-" He stood up, walking away from her- "don't touch me."

Velrisa looked up at Br'aad, who was now standing by Taxi, still severely damaged from battle. Now that he was facing her, she could see the slice going across his stomach. She had to do something, but his harsh glare kept her from approaching. It was then that Mountain stood up, turning a glare of his own to Br'aad.

"Would you just stop being a bitch and let her heal you already?"

"Oh? Oh, I'm being a bitch? I'm sorry, but I'm not the one who murdered a child."

Everyone in the party flinched when he said that. They started going back and forth, the fight escalating with each word spoken. Sylnan walked over to Vel, putting a soothing hand on her back. He looked over at his little brother, seeing the fury contorting his expression. If this was how he was reacting to Vel murdering a child on accident, how would he react to Sylnan's atrocities? Would he scream and shout, or would he just quietly fume with hatred, or maybe he'd forgive him given the circumstance. No matter what the reaction, he didn't want Br'aad to ever know.

Unfortunately, it seemed secrecy was a luxury he wasn't about to be awarded.

"I don't know why you're so upset with Vel when your brother has done the exact same thing!"

And Sylnan's blood ran cold.

He turned back to his brother, who's face had gone from anger to shock. 

"You. What?"

"Br'aad, wait, listen to me-" He shot to his feet, walking towards his brother- "I... We needed the money, I- I did what I needed to protect you, I co-"

He was interrupted by Br'aad raising his hand to Sylnan, a familiar energy gathering in his palm and dying in newly golden tattoos back to purple.

"Get the fuck away from me." 

Sylnan froze, the hardened gaze of his brother cutting him to his very soul. Br'aad quickly retracted his hand, the purple energy dissipating and his tattoos returning to their golden hue. He looked back at Sylnan, hatred tainting his expression before he turned on his heel and ran back into the woods.

They stayed there for a moment, completely silent before Taxi shot to his feet and ran after Br'aad, leaving the rest of the party to sit and think.

-

It took an hour before he finally stopped running, so deep into the woods that he wasn't sure where he was, but he didn't care. He continued to walk in deeper and deeper, stumbling over roots and his own feet as the tears streamed down his face. Eventually, he came to a clearing with a large lake. The water reflected the moon at stars near perfectly, only being moved as more petals fell to its surface. It was a gorgeous scene, but not enough to distract Br'aad from the information he'd just learned.

He sat at the water's edge, looking at his reflection in the water. His brother- someone he trusted with his life- had murdered a child. A child who had no way to defend themselves, a child who had no capability for evil. He said he did it for Br'aad, but Br'aad didn't want this, he never would have wanted this. He caught a glimpse of one of the rings on his finger, the one Jacquot said was a symbol of his family.

The half-elf pushed himself to his feet, staring out across the lake. Shakily, he pulled the ring off his finger, turning it over a few times before chucking it into the water. His father was a monster, his brother was a child murderer, his mother was dead, and he was certain he didn't want to be a Vengolor any longer. 

He looked at his tattoos, his horrible, ugly tattoos. He quickly cast a spell to hide them, clearing his skin of the terrible marks. Then, he gripped at his long blond hair, pulling out a dagger with the other hand. He looked far too much like his father. He looked far too much like a Vengolor. He couldn't stand it, he wouldn't take it.

_

It had been over an hour, and Taxi was hot on Br'aad's trail. His pink, sparkly bag was distinct enough to easily track, and he knew that Br'aad had stopped in front of a small lake. He managed to convince a local bird to lead him to the lake, and he was nearly there.

It took him a second to realize the man he was starring at was even Br'aad.

He was wearing the same outfit, yes, but he looked nothing like himself. His hair had been roughly and messily cut short, uneven and dyed a light brown. The tattoos that once covered his body were gone too, as well as his long ears being magically shorter.

As Taxi approached, he whipped around, eyes red and puffy. He was still clutching a small amount of hair in his hands.

"Br'aad... What did you do?" When he didn't respond, Taxi took a seat next to him. His gaze was focused down at the water, strands of golden hair floating there. They stayed like that for a while, sitting in the gentle quiet of the night.

Suddenly the floodgates burst open as Br'aad began sobbing, his attempts to form any sentences stifled by his rough cries. He longed to tell Taxi about how Vel had died, how Ob'nockshai wanted a life for a life, how Ob'nockshai got what he wanted in the end, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He knew it wasn't their fault, he knew that all this anger was only directed at himself, but he had no way to express it. He just let himself sob, his tears rolling off his face into the water.

Taxi could only watch as his friend screaming and wailed, his spell falling as his concentration shifted, revealing his true appearance once more. He desperately tried to speak, to tell Taxi something, but his words were muffled and incoherent. He couldn't stand to see his friend like this.

So he didn't.

He pulled Br'aad close, hugging him tightly and running his hand through his now short hair. He felt the half-elf bury his face into his chest, gripping onto his shawl with enough force to tear it from his body. They sat there, rocking back and forth and Taxi comforted his distraught friend. Eventually, his sobs ceased, and his body fell limp as he drifted into sleep, the exhaustion in his features clear.

There was so much left in the air, about Sylnan, about Br'aad, about Vel, about everything. But it can wait until the morning. 

It can wait til the morning.


End file.
